The Spectator and the Muses

Human Natural Selection

How do you feel when you see someone get hurt? For me, it depends on the origin of the injury: I pity those who get injured because of others, or “bad luck” for being in the wrong place at the wrong time; but those who provoke their own misfortune, I might even laugh and question if they really should still be alive. I think this because the fact that they keep on living goes against nature and logic. Natural selection should work in those cases, because natural selection would improve the world we live in.

The natural selection process was defined about 200 years ago by Biology and science in general. It’s a process where the living creatures of any species die if they don’t do or have the correct things to survive. To set it clear, it’s like “try and error”, at a mayor level than an individual. Charles Darwin and Russell Wallace, two of the most prominent naturalists got to define natural selection in these phrases: “Survival of the fittest”, and “Only the strongest survive”.

Now, if us humans are animals, and part of nature as any other creature, then theoretically natural selection should apply to us too. But we’ve intervened in its process with the introduction of medicine and other security and welfare issues. According to Darwin, the selection marker is most of the times based upon the main survival feature of the species. For humans, we don’t really need to rely for survival on primitive features like physical strength or rapidness. We rely on our most human feature: wits, reasoning and intelligence. Hence, stupidity should be the determinant for human natural selection.

This actually works. For example, medicine dictates that the natural intelligence of a person can be measured in the baby phase. The smarter a baby is, the more precautious he or she will be towards danger. Long story cut short, a smart baby won’t try to go down some stairs, and won’t dare an animal that could hurt, even if it looks cute. This is the same explanation of why every single guy in MTV’s Jackass show should have died several times already, or at least be rendered unable to reproduce. There’s an ironic motto that refers to this type of idiotic attitudes, when natural selection fails to work: “Darwin rolls in his grave”.

The benefits of natural selection are clear and simple. First, there would exist a type of “natural justice”. Meaning that those who cause the types of accidents like “drink and drive” or “I can beat it”, for being irresponsible or plain stupid, would be the ones to suffer the consequences by themselves, without affecting others. Second, overpopulation would slow down and maybe even cease to be a problem. Just think about the phrase: “if idiots could fly, we would live an eternal night”. Third, as a consequence of reducing the population, we would save resources, oxygen included. Perhaps we would save even more than we can imagine, since idiots are precisely those who waste, not spend or invest the natural resources. Finally, as a result of de-selecting those who “slow down the herd” and “interrupt” evolution, and by just keeping this “elite” of worthy humans, our species would be forced to excel at a better rate and beyond expectation.

To conclude, I’d like to tell you my definition of natural selection: it means that you have to deserve the right to live, by keeping yourself alive, safe, healthy, and useful for society. If you do not, then what are you living for? That’s an important question that ought to have an answer. Therefore, everyday please ask yourself this after waking up: will I be worthy and fitted for survival today?